Blog – BMS Health Services

NUTRITION & FOOD ACCESS

As part of the patients’ health screening, the primary care provider can refer them to nutritionists or health coaches, who can support everyone to create a food health plan or provide information on how to access food benefits and services. BMS designed multiple programs and activities to promote and provide access to quality food and healthier diets to our patients and local communities.

Entitlement Benefits

After evaluating the health and social needs of each individual and family group, patients that meet the requirements are referred to apply for government benefits tailored to ensure food security. Once referred, BMS assists patients enroll and navigating benefit programs and provides some of those services at our facilities.

SNAP Enrollers

Our compassionate team will help individuals and families enrolled in the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), formerly called food stamps, a government program that helps people buy the food they need for healthy lives.

WIC

BMS is part the providers of this supplemental food and nutrition program for parents and infants, click for more information.

WATCH High School

Founded in 2004, World Academy for Total Community Health (W.A.T.C.H) is an NYC public high school that incorporates curriculums dedicated to helping students to embrace practices that develop their Intellectual, social, emotional, physical, spiritual, and environmental health, leading to academic success and positive youth development.

Students are exposed to health careers, practices, and principles in preparation for placement as community peer educators. Starting in the 9th grade, young people examine their own health practices, and throughout high school, they apply their knowledge to an expanding circle of their family, local, and global communities.

If you are a community-based organization or a group of community members and you wish to host health peer educators at your event or activity please contact us at 718-688-7900 extension 1481.

Local Pantries & Food Access

Our staff offers navigation support in locating food pantries or free community meal resources that meet their needs. BMS partners with local food pantries where we referred BMS-enrolled patients experiencing pressing food security needs. There, families and individuals can receive bags of fresh and healthy products.

Brownsville Local Food Pantries:

Out of the Walls Ministries: 273 The Wortman School, 923 Jerome St, 11208
New Hope Family Worship Center: 817 Livonia Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11207

In addition, BMS partners with Teens for Food Justice and Collective Fare to enhance food distribution systems and carry out community activities in Brownsville and East New York.

BMS Board Member, Board of Directors
Lisa Kenner

Lisa Louise Kenner was born and raised in Brownsville, Brooklyn on April 30, 1959, to the late Clarence and Shirley Kenner. Lisa’s character was shaped by the strength of the family values that was instilled in all 8 of the Kenne1· child1·en by theit· parents. Lisa’s father Clarence gave Lisa her fighting spirit and Lisa said,” Father’s love is greatly needed in their daughter’s lives, so always show them love. I will always love my father” Lisa attended P.S. 184, J.H.S. 275 and Canarsie High School but left before graduation. After earning her G.E.D. she entered Medgar Eve1·s College where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Public Administration.

Lisa’s mother and aunt were members of Tabernacle Baptist Church under the late Rev. Henry Parke1·, where she was baptized at the age of 9, sang in the choir and was a member of the usher board and missionary. She continues to be an active member of Tabernacle Baptist Church under Dr. Rev. Glenn Johnson, where she was baptized again at age 39.

During her youth and adult life, Lisa was inspired by the strong women and men in the community that were always trying to make om· community a better place for all and fight for the rights of people who could not fight for their own rights, to name a few; the late Shirley Kenne,·, the late Fannie Saunders, the late Ms. Sarah , the late Ms. Mason, the late Dr. Phyllis Jackson, the late Dr. Betty Shabazz, the late Congresswomen Shirley Chisholm, the late Congressman Major Owens, the late Rosetta Gaston, the late honorable Mary Warren, the late cousin Edith, the late cousin Do1·is Harcum , and the late Jenny Bowman, and the late Gregory “Jocko” Jackson, the late Dorothy DeVouse, the late Joyce Anderson, and the late M. Morton Hall and in the present Chanel Halburton, Prof. Elizabeth King, Bessie Hargrove, Betty Weems and Dr. Lenora Fulani. Lisa can’t forget those residents, who attend meetings, and let their voices be heard. Also, Lisa Feels Velma Purnell and Regina Clemens, kept her from the perils of the community and told her to stay involved in positive things. As the saying goes:” It takes a village to raise a child”

Lisa Louise Kenner has been a community activist for over 25 years. Her first experience was when her parents died and all the teaching, they had taught her had to come forward. The second experience was with Greater Brownsville Athletic Council under the leadership of Dr. Larry Brown. Lisa Louise Kenner is a fo1·mer Juvenile Counselor with the Department of Juvenile Justice and the Human Resource Administration. She also has held and continues to hold several community leadership positions, such as membership at Van Dyke I Resident Association, NYCHA President’s Council of Brooklyn East, Brownsville Old Timers Committee, the Brownsville Community Development Corporation, DOP, NEON(Neighborhood Opportunity Network and a former member of the NYPD/Brooklyn Clergy Taskforce/Grandmother Of Love Over Violence. She also founded the Brownsville Little Miss Brooklyn Pageant and Rise Up and Stop the Violence Youth Empowerment Program.Lisa has received numerous awards for her work in the community, such as the Medgar Evers Lucille Rose, Fannie Lou Hamer, Mary Warren Community Service Award, Priscilla Wooten Award and HealthFirst Women’s History Month Community Service Award. However, Lisa credits all her achievements to the significant role that God continues to play in her life. She also knows that the values instilled in her by her parents and communities are what help her continue to grow.

As a former New York State Committeewoman for the 55th Assembly District, community activism is just one of the many roads that Lisa has traveled.

Ms. Kenner is the mother of one and has two grandchildren and a great grandchild. She hopes in her lifetime all people exercise their right to vote and participate civically in their community.

“Leadership is Action, Not a Position”

“When they Go low, We Go High” Michelle Obama

BMS Board Member, Board of Directors
Carmen Ines Jackson
May 2025

Carmen is a native New Yorker. Her parents moved to New York from Puerto Rico at the young age of 18, eventually starting a family that included four daughters and one son. When Carmen was just three years old, the family relocated to Brooklyn, settling in a neighborhood called Brownsville—which has been her home ever since. It was in Brownsville that Carmen’s life began to take shape. She graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School, and even as a student, she knew she wanted to return to the classroom—either as a teacher or an educational assistant.

Several years later, Carmen became Mrs. Carmen Jackson when she married Gregory “Jacko” Jackson—widely regarded as the unofficial mayor of Brownsville. Together, they raised eight children. In the community, Carmen worked closely alongside her husband, who served as Executive Director of the Brownsville Recreation Center (BRC) for over a decade until his passing. Together, they coordinated programs that provided extracurricular support to hundreds of children each week, offering meaningful opportunities for both the young and the young at heart to become stewards of their community. These programs were considered highly successful and inspired the creation of Stars Are Born in Brownsville, a showcase of the neighborhood’s best and brightest. The culture they built at the BRC was one of family—where everyone who entered was treated as a trusted member. Following in their parents’ footsteps, the Jackson children also became deeply involved in the center’s activities, making it a true family affair.

Carmen’s deep dedication to community advocacy, activism, and supporting her husband’s work delayed her personal goal of returning to the classroom. However, through perseverance and strong will, she eventually realized part of that dream—serving as an educational assistant for over two decades until her retirement in 2022.

Even after the passing of her husband, Carmen remains deeply engaged in community service at various levels. She is an active member of the youth group at the co-op where she resides and serves on its Board of Directors. She is also the founder of the Greg “Jacko” Jackson Foundation, which continues her husband’s legacy of community service.

Understanding the evolving needs of the community, Carmen expanded her advocacy work to include health. In 2015, she joined the Board of Directors of the BMS Family Health and Wellness Center, where she continues to serve today.

Despite her busy schedule, Carmen still finds time to relax. She enjoys knitting, is an excellent hairstylist, and often turns to music as a way to unwind after a long day. She understands that the work she does demands immense patience and deep devotion—often more than most could give—and that kind of commitment requires true strength. Her longevity in both her career and community service is a testament to just how strong she truly is.

BMS Vice Chair, Board of Directors
Yvonne Louise Durant-Graham
May 2025

Yvonne Louise Durant-Graham was born on June 25, 1954 in Brooklyn and grew up in the Van Dyke Projects.

She attended PS 150 from K to 2^nd grade. With her mother being very politically active in the community her parents realized that Yvonne was not receiving the same quality of education as the children in Flatbush, Brooklyn, which was predominately White. So in September of 1962, Yvonne and nine of her school friends were bused to PS 222 in Flatbush. She will forever remember the picture that still remains very clear in her mind today. Parents with picket signs saying things like “Go Home”, “We don’t want you here”. She was the only Black child in her class.

She later attended Marine Park JHS and graduated from James Madison High School in June of 1972. By this time she had grown accustomed to being in the minority and she had figured out that white kids did just about everything she did and she did just about everything they did. The only difference – She was Black and they were White.

She entered Adelphi University in 1972. Yvonne had no idea what the racial percentages of Blacks to Whites were when applying to Adelphi. All she knew was that it was far enough away, to say she was away from home, but close enough to get back in a hurry if she needed to.

In November of 1975 Yvonne became one of twelve charter members of Kappa Epsilon Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. which was the first Black sorority on Adelphi’s campus. Upon graduation she held the office of Assistant Graduate Advisor and Graduate Advisor.

In 1976 Yvonne graduated from Adelphi with a BA in psychology. Three months after graduation she was hired as a bank teller at GreenPoint Savings Bank where she was promoted to Assistant Auditor in 1977.

In 1978 she returned to Brownsville to begin working as a substitute teacher with the NYC Board of Education. In September of 1979 Yvonne was afforded the opportunity of becoming a first grade teacher in PS/IS 41 located in District 23, Brownsville. She accepted the position and resigned from the bank.

Yvonne worked for nearly ten years as a full time substitute teacher before she decided to return to school to further her own education. In 1993, she received her master’s degree in education from Hunter College.

In 1998, she completed her second master’s degree in Supervision and Administration from Bank Street College. In the summer of 1998 she interviewed and became ELA (English Language Arts) Coordinator for District 16. Here she honed in on demonstrating various techniques and strategies that both her teachers and parents could use to grow children to be proficient in all areas of reading and writing.

In September 1999, Yvonne became an Assistant Principal at PS/IS 41- The Walter F. White School where she remained until 2005 when she was offered the position of Principal at PS/IS 298- The Dr. Betty Shabazz School also located in Brownsville. Yvonne’s journey at the Dr. Betty Shabazz School wasn’t always easy. But through perseverance and God’s grace she was able to move her school from a C rating to an A rating within three years. And in 2009 after 30 years of dedicated service to the students, parents and staff of District 23 and 16 Yvonne retired.

Prior to retirement, Yvonne stepped into the world of entrepreneurship and is currently positioned as a National Director with E.P.I.C. Assets LLC. However, retirement has not stopped Yvonne from continuing her community service. She has served on the executive board of Imagine Me Leadership Charter School and currently is the recording secretary for St. John’s Seniors Organization and the Vice-Chairperson of the Executive Board of the Brownsville Multi-Service Family Health Center (BMS). She is an avid tennis fan and loves bowling, to which she has won medals over the years, in both the NY and NJ Empire State Senior Games.

She is blessed to have one son, Damon Maurice, two grandchildren, Xavier and Journey and most of all the one person who allows her to be herself, who believes in her at times when she doubts herself and for whom she loves unconditionally, her partner of 20 plus years, Carlton Collier.